"O" Word Origins

Orville

Welsh

Invented by Fanny Burney, possibly based on the old Welsh name Eurfyl, meaning "gold."

Orwell

Middle English

From Middle English Orewelle.

oryx

Origin

From Latin ory̆x, from Ancient Greek ὄρῠξ (órŭx, “a pickax; an oryx (the antelope)”).

os

Latin

Borrowed directly from Latin os, meaning "bone."

Osaka

Japanese

From Japanese 大阪 (Ōsaka), literally "large hill."

Osama

Arabic

Borrowed from Arabic أُسَامَة (ʔusāma).

Osamu

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese おさむ (Osamu).

Osborn

Origin

A variant of Osborne.

Osborne

Old Norse

From Old Norse Ásbjǫrn, from áss ("god") + bjǫrn ("bear").

Oscar

Old English

The award's nickname is of disputed origin — often credited to an Academy librarian who said the statuette reminded her of her uncle Oscar. The name itself blends an old Irish name meaning roughly "deer-friend" with an Old English name meaning "spear of God."

Oscar Mike

English

From the NATO phonetic alphabet, where Oscar stands for O and Mike for M, spelling out the initials of 'on the move'.

oscillate

Origin

First attested in 1726; borrowed from Latin ōscillātus, perfect passive participle of Latin ōscillō (“to swing”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ōscillum (“a swing”), usually identified with ōscillum (“a little face or mask hung on a tree that sways with the wind”), diminutive of ōs (“mouth, face”). See also osculate.

oscillation

Origin

From French oscillation, from Latin oscillatio, from Latin oscillo. By surface analysis, oscillate + -ion.

oscillator

Latin

Formed by adding the agent suffix "-or" to "oscillate," from Latin oscillare, "to swing."

oscitancy

Origin

From Latin oscitans + -cy, present participle of ōscitō (“to yawn, gape, open the mouth”), from Latin os (“the mouth”).

oscitant

Origin

From Latin ōscitāns, present participle of ōscitō. Compare French oscitant.

osculate

Origin

Borrowed from Latin ōsculātus, perfect active participle of ōsculor (“to kiss”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ōsculum (“a kiss”) + -or (verbal suffix), from ōs (“mouth”) + -culum (diminutive suffix). See also oscillate.

osculation

Origin

From Latin ōsculātiō (“a kissing”), from ōsculor (“to kiss”). By surface analysis, osculate + -ion.

osculator

Origin

From osculate + -or.

Oshima

Japanese

From Japanese 大島 (Ōshima), literally "big island."

osier

Origin

Borrowed from French osier (“basket willow, withy”)

Osiris

Ancient Greek

Borrowed via Latin Osiris from Ancient Greek Ósīris, itself adapted from the Egyptian name wsjr.

Oslo

Old Norse

From Old Norse Ósló, possibly from áss ("god") + ló ("meadow").

Osman

Old Norse

Comes down through Ottoman Turkish and Arabic, ultimately related to the Old Norse name Ásmundr, meaning roughly "divine protection."

Osmond

Old Norse

From Old Norse Ásmundr, from áss ("god") + mund ("protection").

osmosis

Greek

From Greek osmos 'a pushing, thrusting', with the noun ending -osis; it entered scientific English in the nineteenth century.

osmotherley

Origin

From the Old Norse personal name Ásmundr + Old English hlaw (“hill”).

Oso

Spanish

Borrowed straight from Spanish oso, meaning "bear."

osprey

Medieval Latin

From Middle English ospray, via Anglo-Norman ospriet, ultimately from Medieval Latin avis praedae, "bird of prey" — a phrase that got mixed up in Old French with this particular bird.

oss

Old English

Origin unclear; possibly connected to Old English hālsian ("to beseech, entreat"), though the sense has shifted considerably over time.

osseous

Origin

Borrowed from Latin osseus (“bony, (attributive) bone”), from os (“bone”) + -eus.

ossifrage

Origin

From Middle French ossifrage, from Latin ossifraga (“osprey”), ossifragus (“osprey”), from ossifragus (“bone breaking”).

Ostend

Dutch

As a place name, the Belgian coastal city Ostend comes from Dutch Oostende, literally "east end," describing its position at the eastern tip of a former island.

ostensible

Origin

Borrowed from French ostensible, formed with the suffix -ible, from Latin ostensus, the past participle of ostendō (“show”), itself from obs- (“in front of”) (akin to ob- (“in the way”)) + tendō (“stretch”) (akin to Ancient Greek τείνω (teínō)). Cf. also Medieval Latin ostensibilis.

ostensibly

Latin

Built from "ostensible" (from Latin ostentare, "to show off, display") plus the adverb-forming suffix "-ly."

ostensive

Origin

From Middle French ostensif and its etymon Late Latin ostēnsīvus.

ostentate

Origin

Borrowed from Latin ostentātus, perfect passive participle of ostentō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), intensive from ostendō. Doublet of ostent.

ostentation

Origin

Originated 1425–75 from late Middle English ostentacioun, borrowed from Middle French ostentation and its etymon Latin ostentātiō, ostentātiōnem, equivalent to ostentātus (past participle of ostentāre, to display or exhibit), frequentative of ostendere (“to present, display”) + -iōn. By surface analysis, ostent + -ation.

ostentatious

Latin · 1590

From Latin ostentatus ("displayed, shown off") plus "-ious," entering English around 1590.

osteoporosis

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek osteon ("bone") plus porosis ("becoming porous"), itself from poros, a term for porous rock — literally "porous bone condition."

Ostia

Latin

* (Roman Empire): Latin Ostia * (Italy): Italian Ostia, from Latin Ostia

ostiary

Origin

Borrowed from Latin ostiārius, from ostium (“door, entrance”). See usher, which may be a doublet.

ostracism

Origin

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ὀστρακισμός (ostrakismós, “banishment by means of voting with pot shards”), from ὀστρακίζω (ostrakízō, “ostracize”) + -ισμός (-ismós, “-ism”), from ὄστρακον (óstrakon, “clay pot”).

ostracize

Origin

From Ancient Greek ὀστρακίζω (ostrakízō, “to banish from a city by ostracism”), from ὄστρᾰκον (óstrăkon, “earthenware vessel; fragment of such a vessel, potsherd”) (from the fact that when voting was held to decide whether to banish people, their names were inscribed on potsherds) + -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō, suffix forming verbs)). The English word is cognate with French ostraciser.

ostrich

Vulgar Latin

From Middle English ostrich, via Old French ostruce, from Vulgar Latin roots combining "bird" and a word borrowed from Greek for the same bird — itself thought to come from "sparrow" plus "camel," describing its odd mix of bird and beast-like features.

Oswald

Old English

From Old English Ōsweald, from ōs ("god") + weald ("power").

Oswin

Old English

From Old English Oswine, from ōs ("god") + wine ("friend").

Ota

Japanese

Transliteration of Japanese 大田 (Ōta).